CLIFFORD – What does the future hold for recreation in Clifford?
A newly formed committee met for the first time last week to discuss this topic.
One of the items talked about at length was the Clifford arena, but not in a needs-to-be-closed light.
“It’s not about closing the arena, it’s about finding ways of using it,” said Town of Minto councillor Ron Elliott.
The Clifford Arena Ad Hoc Committee met on Thursday, Jan. 12 at the Minto council chambers in Harriston.
There’s $300,000 to $400,000 to invest in Clifford recreation over the next couple of years and this group wants to decide where it would be best spent.
“What’s the best bang for our buck,” queried Minto mayor George Bridge.
The group decided to hold a public meeting in February in Clifford on the topic. It will be hosted by a facilitator – not a consultant – to maintain a neutral, unbiased perspective.
“This is not a rally-to-save-the-rink meeting, it’s on the future direction of Clifford recreation,” Bridge continued. “We can’t put our head in the sand here. I’d feel worse in two to three years if I said gee, we put $300,000 into the arena and now no one’s using it.”
Money will be invested in Clifford recreation, is just a matter of allocating it to programs and facilities that will be worthwhile.
The Clifford Recreation Association was formed in 2006 to address this subject by providing structure and leadership.
Paul Wightman, at the meeting last week and big part of the CRA, said although they saw a temporary boost in numbers, he felt they “took their eye off the ball” the last couple of years.
Recently the area has witnessed a decline in on-ice participants: 2009 had 100 hockey players and 49 skating club members. In just three years those numbers have dropped significantly.
“We’ve run into problems with numbers. We were almost like a deer caught in headlights,” Wightman said.
The problem with hockey is entire teams can be wiped out from a couple of local kids not playing or skating elsewhere for higher calibre teams.
Clifford Minor Hockey rented 505 hours of ice time over the 2008-09 season. That dipped to 429 the following year and 242 last season.
This year it’s projected to be just 123 hours.
“The smallest of issues can put us right on our knees,” Wightman said. “Hockey is not in great shape in Clifford.”
The Clifford Skating Club went from 74 hours three seasons ago to 39, then up to 63 last year.
The club is projected to use up to about 74 this season....please read more in this weeks Minto Express